Howell Works History
The age at which children at the Works were no longer required to attend school and became eligible to become an apprentice Blacksmith.
What is 12 years?
The year the blacksmith shop opened.
What is 1835?
The name of the tool that you do most of your metal working on.
What is the anvil?
Name and demonstrate the technique used to make a piece longer and thinner!
What is drawing out or drawing down?
The essential pieces of safety equipment when working the forge are:
What is leather gloves, a leather apron, and safety glasses.
An apprentice or their family paid this amount per year for the privilege of learning from a master.
What is $60.
Name three things that might have been made at The Blacksmith's Shop in 1836.
What is carriage parts, hardware, nails, plows, tools, locks, hinges, bells, hooks, and more!
Name three of the four types of fire tools.
What is shovel, rake, and poker.
Name and demonstrate the technique used to cut a piece of metal at your anvil using a chisel.
What is hot-cutting.
The first aid station in the blacksmith's shop is located here.
In the rear of the shop behind the tinsmithing area.
To become a journeyman, an apprentice had to pass this test.
What is reproduce a set of tools used in the Blacksmith's shop overnight, creating one copy for themselves and one for their master.
Most apprentices had become journeymen at this age.
What is 21 years?
Name the part of the forge that you build the fire in!
What is the fire pot or box?
Name and demonstrate the technique used to create a hole in a piece of metal.
What is punching?
In order to work within five feet of the forges in the Blacksmith's shop, you must be how old.
What is 18 years of age?
The number of people living at The Howell Iron Works at it's height in 1836.
What is about 400 people? To visualize, imagine the number of folks it takes to fill a small theater!
Name both sisters who worked at the Blacksmith's Shop in the 1830s.
What is Mary and Patty Fowler?
The name of the mechanism that we use at Allaire to provide blast of oxygen that your fire needs to thrive?
What is the double box bellows.
Name and demonstrate the technique used to make a piece shorter and fatter.
What is upsetting?
When finished in the forge, it is essential to do this with your bellows!
What is hang the bellows?
The typical team working one of the forges in the blacksmith's shop consisted of these three levels.
Master Blacksmith, Journeyman Blacksmith, and Apprentice/Helper.
The number of forges in the Blacksmith's Shop and the reason why.
What is four forges and because this number of forges allowed one team to attend to each of the four wheels of a carriage?
Some techniques for avoiding burning your metal when smithing and interpreting at the same time.
What is selecting thicker stock, removing it from the fire when engaged in conversation, and pausing after the metal has cooled (when necessary) to direct your attention to visitors?
Describe the difference between coke and clinker.
What is coke, or coal that has been freed of all it's impurities, is light and dull in color. This is dark grey and not shiny like the coal. You must keep coke to start the next fire. Clinker is all of the impurities from the coal, which have melted into the bottom of your firepot. You must discard clinker.
Name the two byproducts of working the forge and tell us which one you must you always dispose of at the end of your shift by dropping it into your ash dump.
What is coke and clinker. Coke should be retained and used to start the next fire. Clinker must be emptied into the ash pit.